


Face Paint

by boywonder



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drabble, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-08-17
Updated: 2011-08-17
Packaged: 2017-10-22 17:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/240485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boywonder/pseuds/boywonder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt was: Kankurou breaks an arm and finds he can't apply facepaint properly.<br/>...although I turned it into a pencil and makeup.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Face Paint

"Damnit!"

"Look, why don't you just go without? We can't wait around all day for you, Kankurou!"

For what seemed like the tenth time in a week, Temari was _fed up_. Kankurou wasn't usually such a pain, but since he'd broken his arm, he'd been all but useless. He could puppet with one hand admirably well, but he couldn't apply his usual makeup without getting it _everywhere_. While it was true that the younger shinobi was mostly ambidextrous, he couldn't seem to draw an acceptable line on his face with his left hand.

They were late for their mission. It wasn't anything serious or urgent, or the situation would have been a lot worse. But this was getting on Temari's last nerve. Fed up, she finally stormed out of the room, declaring that she couldn't take it anymore.

"If Gaara hears about this--" she yelled, storming her way down the hall. While it was true that the youngest of the three siblings had calmed significantly since their defeat in Konoha two years before, they both still harbored a fear of the boy. It was dissolving, and they were more of a family now, but...the fear was hard to kill. Temari herself was completely fed up with how long it was taking Kankurou to get ready, just for a routine mission to check the parameter of the village.

This was one of those days she was definitely thankful that Gaara had calmed down. But it wouldn't stop her fuming about the whole damn thing.

"What am I hearing about?" Although the redhead's voice was soft, it was distinct. He was standing in Kankurou's doorway, seemingly out of nowhere. Temari was halfway down the hall by now, but even she stopped. She didn't turn back around, but she stood where she was, half-expecting...well, something _bad_.

Kankurou turned away from the mirror, keeping his expression as flat as possible. His makeup was half done, but a bit shakier than usual.

Gaara looked at him, not really noticing Temari's reaction to his presence there. His eyes locked with Kankurou's for a full minute. The elder of the brothers could feel a thin sheen of sweat start to break out on his forehead. If Gaara noticed, he didn't say anything about it. He was used to people being afraid of him - even his siblings. In some ways, he deserved it after all this time, anyway.

Gaara crossed the room, eyes locked on Kankurou the whole way. He stood in front of his older brother, seeming to loom over him. Kankurou swallowed as the redhead reached a hand out to the side. He didn't dare to move his eyes away from Gaara's, so he couldn't see the boy's hand. The sand stayed safely in the gourd, which was a good sign, but...

When Gaara brought his hand back up, he was holding the purple pencil that Kankurou had been struggling to make lines with. Without a word, he brought the pencil up and drew the horizontal line that his older brother had been having trouble with. It was perfectly even, with no sign of shakiness.

Kankurou's mouth dropped.

"G...Gaara..."

Gaara tilted his head, then dropped the pencil back on the table where it had been before. He reached up and used his thumb to fix a smudge from the other shinobi's previous efforts, then turned and walked out of the room.

Kankurou stared after him, then turned and looked in the mirror. When he saw his reflection there, he smiled.

_Gaara..._


End file.
